Envelope



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

J. N. WILLIAMS.

ENVELOPE- No. 331,355. Patented Dec. 1,1885.

ATTORAIB N, FETEH5 Fhnlo-Lilhogmphcn Washingtnn. D, C,

' UNITED STATES PATENT riucn.

JAMES NELSON WVILLIAMS, OF MOBILE, ALABAMA.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,355, dated December 1, 1885.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES N. WILLIAMs, of Mobile, in the county of Mobile and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelopes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in envelopes.

A considerable loss to the government has heretofore occurred by the reuse of postagestamps, the marks of cancellation having been removed by a wash adapted to the purpose.

Hitherto envelopes have been constructed with a border attached thereto by paste or glue, or the end of the envelope has been closed by glue, so that a stamp placed upon the border portion might be punched or otherwise mutilated without damage to the matter inolosed within the envelope. The trouble and consequent expense of envelopes so con structed, and the liability of the gum med surfaces to separate and cause a ragged appearance, or allow the letter within the envelope to get between the gummed surfaces and become mutilated or stuck, have prevented the envelopes thus constructed from coming into popular favor.

The object of my present invention is to provide an envelope which can be manufactured at as low a rate as those now in common use, and whiclrwill effectually hold the letter placed within the envelope at a stamp-width distance, or any other desired distance, from the end of the envelope, and thereby admit of the punching, cutting, or otherwise mutilating of the stamp or stamps placed on the end of the envelope without any danger of damaging the contents of the letter, a further object being to provide a blank of such shape that it may be readily folded into the form of apartitioned envelope adapt-ed to the above-mentioned purposes; and with these ends in view my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view of the blank. Fig. 2 represents the ready to receive the letter; Fig. 4, the stamp canceled by punching, and Fig. 5 the stamp canceled by cutting. Fig. 6 is a modification.

A represents the body of the blank provided with usual end wings, a, and top wing, B. The bottom wing, O, is made in the peculiar form shown, gradually increasing in width from the end opposite the end to be stamped toward the end to be stamped, at which point it reaches a width nearly or quite the width of the envelope. The wide end of the wing O is provided with an oblique slit, 0, a short distance from the edge of the envelope,which admits of the end 0 of the wing 0 being folded over on the wing G a distance equal to the width of a stamp, or any distance which may be found desirable. The edges of the wings a are gummed, as usual, and also the edge of the section c,which lies in contact with the back of the envelope when folded.

To form the envelope, fold the section 0 over on the wing G and the wing O on the body A, as shown in Fig. 2, and cause the gummed edge of the section 0 to adhere to the body A. Then fold the wings a into position on the wing G and cause them to adhere thereto. The envelope thus formed is ready to receive the letter. The section 0 forms a perfect partition or stop for holding the letter the required distance from the end of the envelope, and the portion of the envelope between the section 0 and the end may be punched or out without exposing or injuring the contents.

D represents a postage-stamp in its position on the envelope and canceled by a punch and by cutting. The process of cancellation can be rapidly accomplished by punching or cutting five or more envelopes at a time.

It is evident that slight changes may be made in the form and construction of the envelope herein described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. For example, the slit 0 may be straight instead of oblique, and the wing C may be provided with folding sections at each end, as shown in Fig. 6, in which case the form of the wing in the blank would preferably be symmetrical; hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the construction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what same partially folded; Fig. 3, the envelope I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

5 of the wings is folded under and glued to the body, forming a partition, for the purpose substantially as set forth.

3..A blank for forming an envelope, con- I sisting, essentially, of a body and four wings, 10 one of the wings being provided with a slit to admit of folding a portion thereof for the purpose of forming a partition, the wholeconstructed in the manner and for the purpose substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this 15 specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES NELSON \VILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

GEORGE STOUT, L. LE BARON. 

